


Bonding Time

by tryingherbestpacito



Series: Inhuman Dream dsmp [6]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Body Horror, Emotional Manipulation, Excessive Swearing, Gaslighting, Haha tommy in prison go brr, I suck at writing manipulation i'm not gonna lie, Idk what happened, Inhuman Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Manipulative Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Mind Manipulation, OOC Dream if im honest, Panic Attacks, Prison Arc go brr, Psychological Trauma, Shapeshifter Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Suicide Attempt, Trauma in general, damn these two are really messed up, hell if i know at this point, i did this instead of homework, i lied. there is very little comfort, is dream actually a good friend, is it really a suicide attempt if you can't die??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:34:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29710317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tryingherbestpacito/pseuds/tryingherbestpacito
Summary: Tommy in the prison, what will he do?orDream and Tommy try to deal with their new roommate for a week without commiting a murder and a hell load of trauma
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s), or platonic ones for that matter lmao
Series: Inhuman Dream dsmp [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2175888
Comments: 12
Kudos: 96
Collections: Completed stories I've read





	Bonding Time

**Author's Note:**

> For some reason, the way i wrote Dream seems...off. I don't know, he just seems a bit out of character compared to how i typically portray him. not sure how or why that happened but oh well *shrugs*
> 
> Also PLEASE read the tags guys, count this as your trigger warning bc theres a couple messed up stuff in this one and i don't wanna accidentally set someone off

"Gods please shut up” Dream groaned, thudding the back of his head against the stone “It’s been like 3 hours- _clearly_ no one is coming”

“Shut up” Tommy rasped out, voice hoarse from screaming for Sam for the past few hours “Shut the fuck up. Piss off.”

“I’d love nothing more” Dream grumbled, pulling up his legs to sit crisscrossed on the single cot “My ears hurt from all your whining and crying” Tommy glared at the man, baring his teeth as he sat back on his haunches, wiping away the dried tears on his face “Are you done with your little tantrum child?”

“F _u_ c _k_ … y-“ his voice gave out, and he rubbed at his throat in pain. Dream couldn’t help but grin sadistically, placing his hands behind his head

“Finally, some peace and quiet” he hummed, ignoring the insulted noises Tommy made. He popped an eye open when he heard footsteps approach, bristling defensively when the teen grabbed him by the shirt and yanked him up to eye level. “What brat?”

“…o _u_ t…”

“I. Don’t. Know.” He snapped, shoving the boy away “If I could get out don’t you think I would’ve figured it out by now? There’s no way out, and with the prison on lockdown there’s no way _in_ either to help you.” he sighed and ran a hand through matted hair “You’ve got one of three choices. 1.) You shut up and stay in your little corner and we leave each other alone until Sam fixes whatever the hell happened 2.) You cooperate and we figure out a way to get out of here-” Tommy opened his mouth to immediately argue “Or 3.) you continue being an irritating little annoyance, I toss your gangly ass into the lava and we see just how lucky your re-spawn is.” Dream continued with a snarl. Tommy shut his mouth and backed into the wall between the lectern and tub, hugging himself as he slowly slid to the floor. Dream huffed and curled back up on his cot “Option one it is” he muttered

* * *

“H _o_ w _l_ o _n_ g _ha_ s i _t_ b _e_ e _n_?” Tommy whispered, voice still raspy. Dream restrained the urge to yeet the one and only pillow he had at the young blonde’s head

“The fuck if I know, I don’t have a clock anymore” he replied curtly, “Drink some water, your throat is gonna bleed” Tommy made a face “It’s clean water, suck it up.” The teen got up slowly, tentatively scooping up water from the basin and slurping it, eventually just drinking it straight from the bin.

“Do you have anything to eat?” he asked quietly, voice a bit recovered. Dream brought up his inventory and examined his dwindling supply of potatoes

“Yes.” He said. There was silence for a few moments

“Can I have some?”

“I don’t have that many” Dream muttered, taking out a few anyway “The feeding system is automated, but there’s only one person’s worth of rations and I don’t know if the system got damaged so we’ll have to save these until we know the system still works” he tossed the boy three potatoes. Tommy looked unimpressed

“These are raw” he pointed out, Dream waved a dismissive hand over to the glowing magma

“Wall of lava” he responded, “Get cooking” Tommy looked over at the molten rock wall and hesitated, actually pulling farther away from it a little “What?” he snapped, sitting up on his cot irritatedly

“Nothing.” Tommy snapped back angrily, eyes still trained on the wall of lava “It’s nothing-“

“Oh come on now” Dream grumbled, getting out of his cot and marching over to the boy, holding out his hand “Give it.”

“Wha-“

“Potatoes.” He ordered “Hand ‘em over” Tommy clutched the food closer with a glare “Unless you _want_ to eat raw potatoes, give them to me.”

“Why?” the teen asked warily, slowly handing over the vegetables. Dream snatched them out of his hand and plopped down dangerously close to the superheated wall “H-hey, you’re a bit close aren’t you?” Dream shrugged, pushing the potatoes closer and closer, ignoring how his skin began to steam “Hey! Dream!”

“It’s fine.” The man mumbled, moving the food around and patting out the small fire that had started on his pants “I’m used to it by now” he grinned a little “I barely feel the heat at this point” Tommy then noticed how his prison attire was singed all over, small burn scars all over freckled skin and patches of long brown hair charred. He said nothing, silently sitting on the edge of the basin patiently while Dream sat in equal silence in front of the lava.

* * *

Tommy groaned a little as he sat up, bleary eyes looking around at the glowing obsidian around him. His heart sank as he realized it wasn’t all just one horrible nightmare.

“-ll no!” Dream whispered angrily “Absolutely not. I’m not letting you- no! I refuse!”

“You don’t have a choice” Dream’s voice snapped back, lower and slightly echoey. Tommy froze, peering around the basin slowly. He wasn’t sure exactly what he was seeing, and he desperately hoped _this_ was a nightmare.

There were two Dreams in the cell, one levitating slightly to tower over the other. The levitating one was perfectly unblemished, wearing flowing green-white robes, hair combed neatly and eyes glowing a faint verdant under the mask. The other looked much more like the current Dream he knew, covered in scars and burns, prison suit singed and messy, long light-brown hair brushing his shoulders. His eyes were glowing as well, dangerous red and ominous under the scuffed mask

“I refuse to acknowledge him” the scarred Dream growled “I will not cooperate, he is not one of us-“

“I have taken interest” the levitating one interrupted with a frown “The boy-“

“Is in my realm therefore under _my_ protection” he snarled “You swore you wouldn’t touch any of them- you _promised_ you’d stay away. You swore to me. You cannot break our agreement-“

“And I won’t” the other smirked “I have merely taken interest” It leaned down and lifted Dream’s chin slightly with a finger “I won’t touch the brat. But neither may you” Dream jerked his face away and began to pace angrily “It is only fair-“

“Shut up” he hissed, covering his ears and shaking his head “Shut up, shut up, shut up. Fuck you. You’re the reason I’m in this fucking place, you and your damn entertainment-”

“I am also the reason you can get out” the other hummed, patting Dream patronizingly on the head with a gloved hand, one that Dream swatted away “The only reason I haven’t razed your entire realm to bedrock for my own amusement yet is because you still interest me~” Its mask turned upside down, body following after in a sickening manner “Otherwise I’d have killed you by now, you and every one of your precious little misfits on this realm.” Dream took a shaky step back, hands clutching the orange prison suit sleeves tied around his waist “Now _that,_ would be _very_ interesting to watch” the upside-down smile under the mask split its face in half as it grinned, fangs dripping black as Dream trembled but stood firm “All the things I could do to them while you can do nothing but watch~ Don’t you think that would be fun?” Dream seemed to hunch in on himself, shoulders practically pulled up to his ears. The other Dream curled around him, running a hand through his hair almost kindly as it seemed to bury him in its robes

“Are you done being a prick?” Dream snapped, looking like he was glaring at the being from under his own mask “Or do I have to deal with _two_ annoying jerks in my cell?” the being grinned wider before its face finally began stitching itself back together into something relatively human

“There’s my little admin~” It purred affectionately despite the fact Dream was baring his own fangs in a snarl “Now behave would you? I want him alive.” The being seemed to enter into Dream’s chest and the Admin staggered back, legs crumpling under him as the back of his knees hit the cot.

He plopped down on the bed and buried his masked face in trembling hands, taking deep, shaky breaths as he muttered to himself softly. He took in one, final deep breath before straightening up, slipping a hand under the mask to rub his face tiredly. Dream brought up his board, typing away furiously, waiting a moment and then typing again when he received back a message. Tommy noticed how one hand would type while the other simply twirled in the air as if fiddling with something invisible, a habit Dream had been doing a lot more leading up to his imprisonment.

There was a quiet whoosh and Tommy had to cover his mouth to keep quiet when he saw a figure shake off purple sparkles from their suit. His first instinct was to call out to the familiar teen, but his heart dropped to his stomach when Ranboo greeted Dream with a friendly hug, the two discussing something softly in a language he couldn’t understand and made his head hurt the more he listened. Something in his chest panged when he saw the fond way Dream ruffled Ranboo’s hair, the two laughing quietly at something Dream had said

“Oh dear~” Dream’s voice hummed next to his ear, making Tommy’s hair stand on end. “You’re not supposed to see this~” Ranboo whipped around at the noise, long ears pulled back in terror and tail standing stiff and straight as Dream shot to his feet. In an instant Ranboo was gone, leaving nothing but purple particles in his wake as Dream stood there in horror.

Tommy turned slowly to the sound, knowing what he would see but not mentally prepared in the slightest when an upside-down smile on snow white porcelain greeted him. The thing next to him could hardly be called human, body twisted in such a mangled way it physically repulsed the blonde. He pressed up against the basin as the floating mask got closer, as if examining him. The painted smile spread wider, reminding Tommy vaguely of Drista. It got closer and paused, looking up at the silent Admin standing stock-still at his cot.

“D-Dream” Tommy stammered out, flicking a quick glance over where he knew the man was stood “Help me. _Please._ ” Dream didn’t reply “ ** _Please._** Please help me.” The mask slowly looked back down at the boy and Tommy screwed his eyes shut, wrapping his arms around himself protectively, burying his face in his knees “This isn’t real, I’m seein’ shit I’m seein’ shit this is all just some fucked up dream a messed-up nightmare-“

“You’re right” Dream’s voice hummed soothingly, sounding so very like Wilbur, instantly relaxing the crying teen “Nothing but a bad dream Tommy~ Just a nightmare~ And everyone knows nightmares can’t hurt you”

* * *

Tommy awoke with a start, sitting straight up with a gasp as he clutched his chest. He immediately panicked at his surroundings, scrambling to his feet and looking around wildly as he knocked into the wash basin, spilling water all over the obsidian floors and slipping on the slick floors. Dream lept out of his cot, clutching a book out in front of him like a weapon

“Wha- What’s happening?!” Dream shouted, looking around equally confused before spotting the wide-eyed teen hyperventilating on his cell floor and relaxing at the sight “Oh. You’re still here?”

“What the fuck?!” Tommy screamed, drawing in on himself “Why am I still here?!!” he began to claw at the walls “Sam?! SAM!! SAM GET ME OUT!! SAM PLEASE!!”

“Oh! We get potatoes! Yay!” Dream noted cheerily, ignoring the child having a full mental breakdown on the floor as he picked up his daily rations from the small pool of water. He calmly passed the screaming Tommy and settled comfortably in front of the lava, laying out a few soggy potatoes in front of him in a row to cook. He hummed softly to himself, seemingly unfazed while Tommy sobbed and shouted at the walls behind him.

After a while the panicked screaming subsided into quiet sniffles, the blonde curled up into a trembling ball on the floor. Dream continued humming, picking up the cooked potatoes and plopping down crisscrossed in front of the teen, leaning an elbow on a knee, munching on a potato as he watched. Tommy peeked up at the man, having flinched when he’d first sat down.

“What?” he rasped out. Dream said nothing, only took another bite of his potato “The fuck do you want bitch?”

“Nothing” Dream shrugged with a faint smirk “Just enjoying the show.” Tommy sat up painfully, glaring at the man in front of him

“Fuck you”

“Really dramatic” He nodded, taking another bite and waving a hand around “I really liked the whole crying bit, added a little spice to the whole thing”

“Oh fuck off” Tommy muttered, wiping his tears away

“No really!” he exclaimed “Best thing I’ve seen in a while, you have to understand it gets rather quiet in here” Tommy shot him another glare

“You’re a prick.” He grumbled. Dream grinned

“Potato?” he offered, holding out the steaming and slightly scorched vegetable for the boy to take. Tommy looked at it suspiciously “Come on. I know you’re hungry after that screaming fest” the blonde warily began reaching for it

“Hey!” he protested when Dream yanked it out of reach “Are you gonna let me eat or not?!”

“Drink some water first” he ordered smugly “If you die from dehydration Sam’ll never let me hear the end of it” Tommy bristled and lunged for the potato

“Just give it you prick!” he snapped frustratedly as Dream continued to keep the food out of reach, eventually throwing it into the lava where it was immediately incinerated “Oh come on! You asshole!!”

“Water first.” Dream repeated stubbornly, popping the last bit of his own potato in his mouth “Then potato.” Tommy muttered and cursed under his breath but got up all the same and stumbled to the basin, taking a small sip before eventually chugging a lot more. He wiped his mouth and glared at the grinning man on the floor

“There.” He snapped “Happy?” Dream hummed “Now can I have a potato for fuck’s sake?”

“Sit.” Dream told him, patting the space in front of him. Tommy shot him a venomous look “ _Sit._ ” Dream repeated in a firmer tone “Or no food.” The teen shuffled over and plopped down, glaring at the Admin “Now, what’s the magic word?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?!!” he shrieked and Dream laughed, tossing the boy two cooked potatoes before getting up and heading to his cot

“Yeah, that’s probably too much to ask huh?” Dream snickered, laying down on his bed and pulling up his board, fingers flying as multiple screens surrounded the man. Tommy curled up against the wall, watching Dream work as he silently ate his “breakfast”.

“How do you do all that?” Tommy asked curiously, startling Dream at the sudden noise

“What?”

“That” he gestured to the multiple screens “What is all that?”

“Regulating the realm” He explained “It’s _way_ easier to do it in person and takes a long time to do it remotely but…” he gestured around him “I have nothing but time”

“Oh.”

“…”

“…”

“…bandage your hands”

“Hmm?”

“Your fingers are all bloodied” Dream pointed out and Tommy looked down to see that his fingers were indeed bloodied and scraped raw from clawing at the walls “Ponk’ll just chop ‘em off if they get infected” this piece of information was enough to get Tommy to his feet and shuffle over to the pool to rinse his hands off, slowly and quietly nursing his wounds

* * *

“You hum a lot” Tommy noted, making Dream look up from his task. Tommy had horribly bandaged up his fingers with ripped portions of his shirt and Dream had immediately taken over the job, forcing Tommy to sit still on the cot as he fixed the mess

“Do I?” he asked neutrally, re-focusing on the bandages as he ripped the scraps into strips “I never noticed.”

“Neither did I” Tommy admitted, fidgeting a little “But now that it’s super quiet I can hear it. You did it a lot outside the prison too now that I think about it.”

“Ah.” Dream mumbled, now completely focused on the bandages. The two sat in awkward silence

“What song is it?” the teen finally blurted

“What do you mean?”

“There’s one song you hum a lot” he explained “I’ve never heard it before- actually I haven’t heard any of them, or at least they’re not any music disk I know of. It goes like-” he hummed a few notes “Like that kinda” Dream hummed the notes back, going on a little longer “Yeah! That one! What song is that?” Dream chuckled a little, smiling slightly

“It’s just a song I picked up” he murmured softly. Tommy seemed skeptical, humming a different song

“What about that one?”

“Sapnap taught me that one” he explained with a fond smile. Tommy sang a few different notes and Dream grinned “Skeppy and Bad.” He chuckled “They were super drunk.” Tommy huffed in amusement, singing a part of the first song again. Dream’s smile faded, hands stilling

“Dream?”

The man got up and brushed himself off, heading over to the wall of lava and leaning up next to it, hands doing that strange twirling motion again as he stared into the magma. Tommy felt he’d crossed a line and guiltily picked at his neatly bandaged fingers

“Dream?” he tried again, getting no response “Dream I… I’m gonna sleep on your bed okay?” no reply “Alright fine then.” He muttered, laying down on the cot and turning his back to the man, choosing to stare at the obsidian instead. As he began to drift off, the now familiar song carried quietly over the bubbling lava. The last thing Tommy remembered consciously thinking before fully falling asleep, was how Dream’s voice sounded strangely like a woman’s.

* * *

There was that song again, low and haunting in the dark cell as Tommy blearily awoke. Someone was humming and he turned, wondering why two Dreams stood side by side, one whispering furiously while the other absently messed with a lock of hair as if half listening. The whispering one turned and stared at the half-awake Tommy, the other just looked back at the lava, still humming away. Tommy blinked and the second one was gone, the only one left still singing away. The song changed into something different, something dangerous, Dream smiling a little as he spun around in the light of the lava, words ancient and sending shivers down the teen’s spine. The rest of his sleep was fitful, eventually waking up to see Dream sitting in once more in front of the lava, potatoes laid out in front of him as they cooked.

He got up and shuffled over, taking a silent seat next to the humming man and his many screens. The song paused, and Tommy could feel Dream’s gaze on him for a few moments before the song started up again.

Neither of them spoke.

* * *

“How long has it been?”

“For the last time” Dream groaned, sprawled out upside down on the cot “I don’t know. It could be a few days, or even just a couple hours”

“I hate this shitty prison” Tommy grumbled, laid out on the floor in equal boredom “What do you do for fun around here?”

“I dunno, sometimes I throw myself in the lava” he shrugged. Tommy looked up in shock

“What the fuck??!”

“My re-spawn is steady” Dream shrugged, completely casual about the fact he went diving into lava on the regular “Perks, or maybe cons depending on how you think about it, of being a Admin. It’s fun!” he rolled off the bed and practically skipped to the glowing wall. Tommy sat up, looking more and more horrified the closer Dream got

“You can’t be serious- Dream!” he panicked, watching wide-eyed as the man backed into the lava, molten rock dripping over his shoulders and head. Dream grinned, extending his arms as his clothes caught fire and his skin began to char. He laughed the more he backed up, body turning into ash as he was fully engulfed. Tommy continued to stare where the man had been, not quite believing what he had just witnessed. A splash startled him and he whipped around. Dream sat in the drop pool, giggling to himself and shaking the water out of his hair before pulling himself out.

“See?!” he laughed, wiping off the water as best as possible “I’d encourage you to try, but I don’t think your re-spawn is steady enough for that”

“What the literal fuck is wrong with you?!!” Tommy shrieked as an amused Dream approached him “You just fucking walked into lava!!”

“Yeah” Dream shrugged nonchalantly “And?”

“Well fuck, doesn’t that shit hurt or something??!”

“It used to” the man sighed wistfully “It used to be excruciating. Now I hardly feel anything.”

“It’s fucking lava!!”

“Yep!” he hummed cheerily “I mean it still stings a little, but it’s not that bad once you do it a couple times- watch! I’ll do it again!!” Before Tommy could stop him, Dream took off towards the lava, jumping in with a whoop, laughing manically as he was dropped in the pool again. He crawled out and started heading for the magma once more but paused when Tommy slid in front of him, arms out to block his path and face looking grim “What?” he huffed, trying to walk around him and frowning when the teen moved with him to stop him “Oh come on now! I was just starting to have fun!”

“Jumping in lava?!” Tommy snapped “That’s fucking horrible!”

“So what?” he replied, “It’s not like I can _die_ ” Tommy flinched “I’ll be fine” he tried once again to go around but the boy stepped in his way “Come on Tommy. Move.”

“No.”

“You said you wanted something to do” Dream pointed out, crossing his arms “Here’s something I wanna do”

“I’m not gonna watch you keep killing yourself!!” Tommy yelled “That’s fucked up and you know it!” Dream seemed to roll his eyes

“Well what do you suggest _genius_?” he huffed “There’s nothing else to do, so let me go play in the lava while you do whatever the fuck you wanna do” Tommy hesitated

“What if we find something else to do?” he tried, heading for the chest of empty books “Um, we have books and uh, you still have the potatoes right? Maybe we can make something out of it? Like a… game?” Dream perked up interestedly

“A game?” he repeated

“Yeah, Yeah!” Tommy nodded frantically, holding up a book “A game! We can come up with a game!” Dream shifted his weight a little, glancing over at lava before finally sighing and beginning to walk over

“Okay…” he agreed, right before turning heel with a wide grin “But after one more jump!!”

“No!!” Tommy howled, trying to grab the man and failing as Dream laughed and dived right in, laughing harder when the teen began screaming and cursing at him the moment he was dropped back into the water.

* * *

Tommy woke up screaming, clawing at his chest in an attempt to breathe, hot sticky air clogging his throat and filling his lungs, suffocating him.

“Fucking Prime are you kidding me??” Dream grumbled, slowly getting up where he’d passed out on the floor and walking over to the panicking teen “Jeez, I know everyone’s trauma is bad but at least I have the common decency to have my panic attacks in silence- Hey. Tommy? You good?” he gave a yawn “Come on man I wanna sleep for fucks sake”

Wild blue eyes shot over to the Admin, growing impossibly wider when they landed on his mask. Tommy began shouting and cursing all over again, switching between flailing and curling up defensively in his blind panic. Dream watched on uninterestedly.

“You done?” he asked. Tommy continued cursing. Dream groaned and marched over, grabbing the young blonde by the collar and dragging him out of his corner.

“Let me go!!” Tommy shrieked, struggling violently against the man “Let me go!! Let me go- Sam!! Sam help me!! Sam!! Wilbur!! Phil!! _Please_!! _Someone-_ “ Dream dumped the screaming child in the drop pool, smirking a little when Tommy came spluttering to the surface, gasping for air and flailing his arms

“It’s like three feet deep, just stand up” Dream pointed out when Tommy kept going under, eventually just grabbing him by the collar and holding him up like a pup for him to take in deep, shuddering breaths

“Let me go” he protested weakly through shuddering sobs “Don’t touch me” Dream dropped him, cursing slightly when the boy went right back under the water, too surprised to grab onto the edge. He yanked the teen out and made sure he rested on the edge, upper half clinging to the obsidian floor.

“Better?” he asked. Tommy flinched at the voice, burying his dripping head under equally drenched arms

“Don’t hurt me” he whimpered “Please don’t hurt me- I’ll be good I promise, I’m sorry, I’m sorry-“

“Hey. Hey!” Dream huffed, snapping his fingers to catch his attention “Come on, snap out of it. I don’t want you passing out again” Tommy peeked up, glassy eyes staring up at the impatient Admin

“D-Dream?” he whispered, looking as if he was torn between rushing up and hugging the man or simply punching him “Wh-what-“

“Nightmare?” Dream guessed as he plopped down in front of the boy, resting his chin in his palm. Tommy hesitated before finally nodding slightly “Figured.”

“H-how-“

“Eh, I get them all the time” Dream shrugged “No big deal, you get spooked for a bit, miss a couple hours of sleep and then knock right back out again!” he told him cheerily with a friendly grin

“They suck” Tommy muttered, slowly beginning to return back to his old self as he buried his face in his arms once more “…you suck too. What the hell?? Dumping me in water like a dickhead…”

“You kept screaming” Dream argued, leaning back on his hands “I figured the only way to get you to stop was to shock you out of it” Tommy snorted at that

“By nearly drowning me? Nice move you prick”

“It worked didn’t it?” he hummed “Tell me, do you remember what you were screaming about after nearly drowning, in three feet of water may I add”

“Oh fuck off” Tommy groaned, but Dream could hear the slight smile in his voice “I wasn’t drowning. I was… swimming with style!” Dream let out a bark of amusement, eventually dissolving into a wheezing fit of laughter. Tommy looked up in surprise, not having heard a genuine laugh from the Admin in, well, _years_.

“Swimming with style” Dream repeated, now cackling and he clutched his stomach “Holy _shit_ that’s hilarious!!”

“Fuck you!” Tommy shouted, although with less bite than usual “You’re a bitch!! A fucking bitch you dickhead!! I wasn’t drowning-“ he tried to get out but slipped on the slick floor, hand sliding out from under him, making him slam his chin on the obsidian and setting Dream off into another hysterical fit of laughter “It’s called Freestyle you asshole!! Fuck you! If I had a knife I’d stab you, you bitch!! I’d stab you I would!!” Dream was literally gasping for air at this point, curled up on the floor with how hard he was laughing. Tommy was pretty sure he spotted a few tears under the Admin’s mask. He sent a wave of water on the man, laughing in surprise when the older blonde shrieked indignantly and sputtered, spitting out the water that had gotten in his mouth.

Dream grinned and shoved Tommy’s head back in the pool, cackling triumphantly when the teen came sputtering and gasping back up for air. There was a small pause before all hell broke loose, Tommy screaming incoherent curses as he splashed as much water as he could towards Dream, scrabbling to get out of the pool while the other scrambled to his feet, leaping up and over the few obstacles in their cell as Tommy chased him.

The two laughed and yelled as they slipped and slid after each other, trying to get the other as drenched as possible from their two water sources, eventually laying out on the floor next to each other, heaving for air and still giggling a bit.

“Sam’s gonna be pissed we made a mess” Tommy chuckled, beginning to recover

“Sam doesn’t have to know” Dream replied “It’ll be our little secret”

“What, that we’ve literally gotten every inch of this place wet?” Tommy snorted

“I have no idea what you’re talking about” Dream said loftily, even as he sat up to wring out his hair “Place is completely bone dry. No water here.” Tommy laughed a little at that, staying laid out on the floor. He tensed when he felt a hand ruffling his sodden hair, messing up wet bangs. Dream smiled kindly down at him and Tommy suddenly felt very exposed, sitting up abruptly and standing up stiffly. “You okay?” Tommy tried not to let the warm tone get into his head, let the concern in his worst enemy’s voice tug at something he refused to name

“I’m a little tired after all that running ‘round” he mumbled, Dream tiling his head like a jilted puppy. The bastard. “I think I’m gonna try and sleep”

“Okay” Dream shrugged, watching Tommy head for the cot “Pretty sure that’s wet though”

“Everything is wet you fucking idiot” the teen snapped, Dream having to hold back another laugh “But I’d rather have a wet bed than a wet floor”

“It’s not that bad once you get used to it~” Dream drawled, sprawling out in the middle of a puddle with a splash. Tommy bit his lip to keep from laughing at the sight

“Yeah yeah” he huffed, crawling into the little cot “Good night. Or morning. Or whatever the fuck time it is”

“Good night Tommy!” he chirped cheerfully from the floor, hopping up once the boy had laid down, humming a little song as he headed over to the lava to dry himself off more efficiently, even slipping the orange suit around his waist back on to dry.

Tommy eyed him as he drifted off, noting how Dream ran one hand through golden locks next to the lava to dry it better, the other doing that strange twirling motion before bringing up a board to examine the alerts.

Wait. Since when had Dream’s hair been blonde??

* * *

“Potatoes~” Dream announced, picking up the rations and heading over to the lava wall. Tommy watched him suspiciously, eyes trained on the head of bright blonde hair he _knew_ wasn’t the right color “I can feel you staring at me” Dream told him, startling the boy “What? Do I have something on my shirt?”

“You’re blonde.” Tommy blurted. Dream turned from his seat to look at the teen, almost confused

“Yes? And?”

“It used to be brown.”

“No??” he puzzled, frowning a little “I’ve always been blonde.”

“No, your hair used to be brown. I know it was.”

“Trick of the light maybe?” Dream suggested with a shrug

“My eyes don’t fucking trick me” Tommy snapped, scowling when Dream laughed a little at that “Your hair used to be brown-“

“Tommy” Dream interrupted with a small shake of his head, sounding like he was correcting a small child “ _Literally_ my whole family is blonde, therefore I am too. You remember Drista right? She was blonde.” Tommy had a surprisingly hard time clearly remembering the Admin’s outgoing sister, vaguely conjuring an image of a young teen with dark-blonde hair

“Well yeah but-“

“See?” he laughed “Blonde sister, blonde brother!” he exclaimed “My hair sometimes _looks_ brown, but that’s usually the light. It’s definitely blonde.”

“Oh…” Tommy mumbled, Dream turning back to his cooking potatoes. He rubbed at his face. Was Dream always blonde and he just couldn’t remember?? He brought up old memories of a visiting Drista, distinctly remembering the siblings having _identical_ shades of gold hair, yet just about every other memory he had of Dream, the man had light brown hair. He groaned, rubbing at the headache starting to form. Dream was right, it was probably just the light.

He didn’t notice how Dream’s hair was just a touch darker, too distracted when the man taunted him with the food.

* * *

Tommy was confused, watching the whistling Admin pace and work. On one hand, he absolutely hated Dream’s guts, wanting nothing more than to escape the room he’d been trapped in with him for gods know how long. There had been a time where he’d eagerly kill the man, damn the consequences to the realm. On the other hand however, Dream had been surprisingly kind some moments, reminding Tommy of his earliest days in the realm, back when he could dare call the man a friend. This wasn’t anything like exile, it was harder to tell the line between genuine caring and manipulation and he was starting to believe maybe there wasn’t a line. Maybe he did care. But no, that couldn’t be right. Monsters never change… right?

It made his head hurt.

“Headache?” Dream asked, startling the boy out of his thinking

“Huh?”

“Drink some water” he suggested “It’s pretty hot in here, so you need to keep water in your system.”

“Don’t tell me what to do” Tommy huffed. Dream paused and stared at him, mask boring holes into his soul in such a way that it made the teen shift uncomfortably

“Come on Tommy” Dream sighed with a disappointed shake of his head “Drink some water. It’s good for you”

“I don’t want to” he muttered, headache beginning to grow

“You’re so stubborn” Dream tutted disapprovingly “Just drink some water, you’ll feel better”

“Don wanna” he slurred, head pounding and mouth full of cotton

“ _Now,_ Tommy.” the man ordered in a tone that warned not to be disobeyed. Tommy slowly got to his feet and stumbled to the water basin, shakily scooping up a drink. He felt better almost immediately, sinking to the floor and resting his forehead against the cool metal of the bin. He felt a gentle hand ruffle his hair and he weakly tried to swat it away, giving up when it pressed against his forehead and instead focused on not leaning into the touch.

“You have a fever” Dream murmured, helping the teen to his feet and leading him to the cot “You need to sleep”

“ ’m fine” Tommy mumbled, trying to break free but Dream held on firm, letting the boy lean on him as he laid down on the thin mattress, taking a seat next to him

“Oh Tommy” he fussed, combing out a few tangles in Tommy’s hair “You’re such a mess”

“ ’m sorry” the teen whispered, not quite sure what he was apologizing for

“It could’ve been a lot worse if you hadn’t listened to me” Dream warned softly “But don’t worry, you’ll be okay now”

“Really?”

Mmhmm” he nodded, continuing his gentle affections “Thank you for listening, you did a very good job Tommy” the boy smiled a little at the praise, eyes beginning to flutter closed

“Dream?” he asked

“Yes?”

“Are we friends?” he questioned “Like, no bullshitting. Are you really my friend?” Dream seemed to hesitate, hand stilling for a moment and Tommy’s heart sank at the idea that he’d stop altogether. He resumed his movements and gave the young blonde a small smile

“I want to keep you safe” Dream replied honestly “I want to keep everyone safe. Do friends keep friends safe?” Tommy nodded weakly

“Yeah… but, Tubbo exiled me, and _he’s_ my friend-“

“Not a very good one” Dream noted and Tommy nodded at the logic, mind too muddled to think properly “But I’m just trying to do what’s best for you, you understand right? You’re a smart boy, I’m sure you get it” Tommy nodded again

“Yeah… I’m a fuckin’… genius…”

“Sleep now” he hummed “You’ll feel better when you wake up” the teen nodded once more, mumbling quietly as he drifted off. Dream continued to sit on the cot, bringing up his screens with one hand, the other resting on Tommy’s head

“Impressive~” It hummed. Dream bit back the spew of curses he wanted to spit, ignoring the grinning being next to him “I’m actually tearing up”

“Fuck. Off.” Dream growled, flinching when it flicked his forehead playfully “It’s just so he won’t try anything once he gets out, better just to be on his good side for now.”

“Awww~ for a moment I thought you actually _cared_.” Dream glanced up, repressing a shudder at the eager grin directed at him

“Don’t be ridiculous” he huffed, twirling a lock of Tommy’s hair anxiously “You know what I’ve done”

“Yes~” It cooed, picking at the invisible, bright severed threads hanging all over the Admin “But do you really think me a fool?”

“What-“

New strands popped up, one of every color, frail and faint and wrapped around the man’s body. Dream got up immediately in a panic

“What the fuck?!” he hissed, tugging at the strings “Nonononono I got rid of these.” He looked up at the being watching him “I did!” he argued “I did I swear!!”

“I told you” It sighed, shaking Its head “You’re acting too human, at this rate-“

“I’ll fix it.” Dream snapped, sitting back down and bringing up his screens to furiously type away “I’ll fix it. Just like I do for every little thing on this damn realm”

“I’ve warned you, this will be easier if-“

“Oh piss off” he snorted, unamused “I already know you don’t care about me, or any of us for that matter so don’t even try it. I know your tricks, hell, you’re the one who fucking taught me.” It hovered for a few silent moments, shimmering with the lava’s heat

“Very well” It nodded “But I’d suggest speeding things up, watching you in this silly little thing is beginning to bore me. You could so easily escape-“ Dream waved a dismissive hand with a smirk

“I already told you” he hummed “It’s more fun this way”

“Fine” It shrugged, heading towards the lava and extending a hand towards it, watching how the glowing melted rock dripped over Its fingers “But I’d be careful about messing with your re-spawn so often” Dream glanced up, puzzled

“What do you mean-” he started, freezing with the ancient dread of another life as he saw himself before the lava. A small green cloak lay on his shoulders, over a white dress shirt and coarse, dark-brown pants. He wore black leather boots and matching fingerless gloves, black smiling face etched on white bone he _knew_ wasn’t a mask. Black, curly bangs peeked out over the edge of the half-disk, shifting into something a bit lighter and straighter to match Dream's current style. The figure grinned as it backed into the wall of lava

“We wouldn’t want history to repeat itself~” Cornelius drawled before fully vanishing, leaving Dream alone in the prison cell with the sleeping teen. He rubbed at his face under his mask, groaning softly as he brought up his messaging board

“I need to get out of here…”

* * *

“Dream? Can I have some food?” Tommy whined

“I don’t know, are you done being annoying?” Dream snorted, laughing when Tommy threw a book at his head. It missed.

“Come on man” he groaned “I’m hungry!!”

“Not my problem” he scoffed, taking a bite of his own food

“Dream!”

“Be nice about it and I’ll consider it” Dream snickered. Tommy pouted a bit, crossing his arms with a huff “Come on, just say the magic word~”

“Fuck you”

“Nope!”

Tommy groaned, sprawling out on the floor

“Can I _please_ have some food” he grumbled.

“Of course!” Dream chirped, pulling out the potatoes and tossing several to the startled teen “See? That wasn’t so hard was it?” Tommy blinked in surprise at how easy it had been “Now, what do you say?”

“Uh…thanks” he replied, taking a small bite

“Don’t eat too fast” Dream warned “You’re still recovering and I don’t have any medical access so take it easy” Tommy mumbled something vague as he leaned against the wall, mouth full of potato as he pulled out the book and quill he’d convinced Dream to let him have and began doodling.

They spent the next few hours in peaceful quiet, breaking into the occasional squabble Dream usually ended up winning.

* * *

Tommy woke up with another headache, cell darker than usual but that made the light from the lava hurt his head more. He slowly got up from his spot in the corner, stretching out to head for the water basin. Dream was right after all, water really did help and of course Dream knew better. He was only trying to help. Tommy took his few drinks and yawned, realizing the room was… off. It was too quiet and when he turned around he found the room utterly empty.

But… that was impossible. That was impossible there was no way-

“Dream?” Tommy whispered, looking around warily as if the man was somehow hiding “Dream?? Dream?!” he began to get louder, running around the small cell in a panic “Dream!! DREAM!!!” he curled up on the cot, walls seeming like they were closing in on him as he hugged himself.

It was getting harder to breathe, hot air suffocating him, reminding him of the nether and oh gods he was in the Final Control Room again wasn’t he? He was alone, all alone and he was going to die he didn’t want to die where was everyone where had they gone they’d left him they left him in this fucking place to die and he was so so alone-

“Tommy? Tommy?? Tommy!!”

The teen covered his ears, noise much too loud- quiet he wanted quiet- no he wanted air. Air air why couldn’t he breathe- something shook him roughly and he gasped, looking around wildly, arms flailing when he felt something grab him, ready to fight because fight was all he knew, fighting is what kept you alive and gods he didn’t want to die-

“Tommy! Tommy focus!” Dream snapped, gripping his wrists tightly to keep the boy from hitting him. “Tommy I’m going to drop you in the pool again if you don’t stop. Focus.” Tommy looked up and wanted to scream because there was that face that horrible beautiful smile leering down at him “Tommy. Tommy breathe, come on breathe. You can do that right? You can do that for me?” he took in a shuddering gasp, if only to keep the Admin placated “Good! Good, that’s good. Again.” He took in another breath, and another, and another, vision clearing up and now being able to take in his surroundings. “There we go, good job~” Tommy wiggled out of his grip, clinging to himself as he wept

“Where were you?” he sobbed. Dream tilted his head a little in confusion

“What do you mean?” he puzzled “I’ve been here the whole time, _you’re_ the one who just started screaming out of nowhere” Tommy looked up, wiping away his tears and looking utterly confused

“What are you talking about??”

“Tommy I’ve been here the whole time” he exclaimed, sitting down on the cot next to him and brushing some dirt off his pants “You were just having a nightmare”

“Nightmare?”

“Yeah” he nodded, running a hand through his hair comfortingly “Just a bad dream” he slowly pulled the boy closer, patting his head soothingly when Tommy finally caved and gripped on tightly to the familiar green hoodie, drenching it with tears “I wouldn’t leave you Tommy, you know that”

“You wouldn’t?”

“No, of course not!” Dream soothed, calming down the trembling teen “I mean, no one else has come to try and get you out, even Sam can’t do anything to help you but I’ll still be here. I’ll always be here” Tommy cried a little harder, gripping onto Dream with all his strength as the man hummed a calming song, combing out the boy’s tangled hair with his fingers until he finally fell back asleep.

* * *

Tommy and Dream were on the floor playing a makeshift game of poker created out of book pages for cards and potatoes as chips, Tommy crisscrossed and Dream on his stomach. The two perked up when they heard the grinding and whirring of gears and redstone. Tommy tensed, scooting a little closer to Dream as they watched the lava wall begin to fall. The two sat in silence, neither daring to move as the platform began to inch towards them, tall and intimidating warden striding towards the cell.

“Tommy” Sam greeted in relief the moment he stepped into the cell, the teen immediately getting up and racing to the man, practically tackling him with a hug. “Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you did he?” he examined the boy over worriedly, shooting the occasional glare at Dream still sitting calmly on the floor, faint smile visible under the mask.

“I’m fine Sam, really” Tommy reassured, clinging to the man and burying his face in his chest “I just wanna go home, please let me go home. This prison sucks” Dream got up and Sam placed a warning hand on the crossbow at his waist. The Admin raised his hands in mock surrender, grinning and backing away slowly

“See Sammy?~” he drawled “Safe and sound. You can trust me”

“Fat fucking chance” he hissed, grip on the teen tightening protectively as Tommy peeked out at the blonde man still in the cell

“Well, this was fun while it lasted” Dream sighed mournfully, kicking at one of their cards dejectedly “See you soon?” he asked hopefully

“You’re insane if you think I’m ever gonna let him-“

“Tommy’s a big boy Sam” Dream cut in with a strange tone “He can make his own decisions, he’s not a baby” Tommy pulled away a little and nodded

“It’s fine Sam, I can take care of myself” he huffed. “I’m a big man”

He looked over at the lonesome Admin, and only then did Tommy seem to realize just how alone Dream looked, fiddling with his hands and shifting his weight from foot to foot. He’d admittedly been fun to be around, and a visit every once in a while wouldn’t hurt… right?

“Sure Dream” Tommy shrugged, Sam seeming shocked while Dream looked absolutely ecstatic “I guess I could spare a visit if I’m free” he smiled a little at the way Dream beamed happily

“I’ll look forward to it then!” Dream cheered, waving at the two as the platform began to head back towards the exit. Tommy hesitantly waved back, watching the man until the lava separated him from view.

“Alright Sam! How’s my hotel been doing?!”

* * *

Dream dropped his hand and smile the moment the lava blocked him from view, refusing to look at his double now standing next to him

“I will admit” It chuckled “Things have _certainly_ gotten more interesting”

“Told you” Dream scoffed, brushing himself off and shoving his hands in his prison suit pockets “I know what I’m doing, just trust me” he leaned back on his heels as he examined a certain red string on his wrist, now glowing steadily “We’re gonna have lots of fun~”

“Very well” It hummed, vanishing from sight the moment a familiar whoosh and crackle announced the arrival of Dream’s lead visitor. Dream turned to the new teen in his cell, grinning widely and adjusting his mask

“Hello again Ranboo.”

**Author's Note:**

> Enderwalk Ranboo and Dream are legitimately friends and i refuse to change my mind until canon proves otherwise. *flips off canon*
> 
> Meet Algorithm guys!! Yeah, THAT'S the fucker that follows Dream around for entertainment. As you can see, they really live up to their reputation of being the god of manipulation and trickery. What a bitch. I wonder who he and Dream were arguing about...  
> >:3c
> 
> In case you don't know, Cornelius is a character from the first "Tales from the SMP" episode that was set in the past. In my version, Cornelius IS Dream (Clay), just a past life. When he was attacked and later sentenced to death, Algorithm saved him from perma-death however it took 100 years for Dream to respawn and he was reborn as a child with no memory of his past self.
> 
> Sooo... Shapeshifter Dream eh? I swear i never meant for him to be a full shape shifter but FUCK it's so much fun to write!! It's not instantaneous, his species typically change over time to better blend in with whatever their surroundings are, ex. Dream was raised by humans with blonde hair therefore he also has blonde hair. If their environment changes, they too change their appearance (Sapnap and George have dark hair, Dream's hair darkens to match and better fit in) In his time in the prison, Dream actually grew a bit taller to better match Sam since Sam was the one he saw most often, and his ears got a bit pointed also due to this (And Ranboo's visits) With Tommy around, Dream naturally became something more similar to make Tommy feel more comfortable (he usually doesn't realize he's doing it, hence the confusion)  
> When he does it on purpose it takes practice, he has to really know what the person looks like so the more he hangs around them, the faster and easier it is to shift. He can also mimic voices, the more he hears it, the better the mimicry is to the point where you cant tell the difference.  
> The voices are something most people know he can do, he shows it off a lot as a party trick. They don't know he can shift into other people, he's keeping that newfound ability secret (literally just figured it out in prison)
> 
> Tommy thinks all the weird stuff he remembers were just nightmares or hallucinations cause he was sick. (Funny how he got sick so fast huh?)  
> None of them were either by the way :)
> 
> 3/1/21 after stream edit: WHATTHE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK I DID NOT EXPECT THAT SLDKVNAJFNVUA THIS IS SO OFF LMAOOOOOO XD (*cough*lowkeydeserved*cough*)


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